65 Students Gifted Laptops At Medgar Evers College

CROWN HEIGHTS, NY — Some 65 incoming freshmen at Medgar Evers College will receive free laptops after Spectrum helped the school chip away at its "digital divide."

Spectrum handed over the $25,000 donation Monday at the college on Carroll Street during an award ceremony for its SEEK program to support students needing financial and academic help.

“Up to this point, these young people have had to resort to doing school work and homework on their phones due to their inability to afford their own computers. This grant goes a long way in bridging the digital divide,” said Medgar Evers College President Patricia Ramsey.

SEEK — offered at a number of City University of New York schools — supports low-income students who would otherwise be "inadmissible" to the college they want to attend based on academic criteria, according to CUNY's website.

Elected officials and community leaders attended the award ceremony Monday and accepted the donation, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest.

In NYC, Spectrum granted one other donation to the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, along with 99 other donations across the country to support "digital literacy."

“Digital skills are critical to navigating everything from finding a job, to going to school, to buying groceries — yet too many families still have not adopted internet at home," said Rahman Khan, an executive at Charter Communications, Inc.